April 25, 2014
Dear Mr. Searles,
The New England Transportation Consortium Advisory Committee, at its April 15th, 2014 meeting, selected the
following projects for the 2014 Research Program:
 NETC 14-1: Measuring the Effectiveness of Competency Models for Job-Specific Professional
Development of Engineers & Engineering Technicians
This project would develop a process for implementing competency models (CM) for engineering staff,
aligning the CMs with Agency Strategic Plans, and measuring the return on investment (ROI) of the
implementation. One of the positive results of competency models is that they can become “two way
streets”, and encourage shared career paths that are owned by the employee but also align with the
agency performance measures and therefore would have agency commitment and support. (Estimated
$100,000 Budget)
 NETC 14-2: Investigation of Northern Long-Eared Bat Roosting Sites on Bridges
This project would investigate bat utilization of a population of New England bridges, to determine if
any are being used by the Northern Long-Eared Bat and other bat species potentially proposed for listing
under the ESA. It would survey a subset of candidate structures during non-hibernation periods. State
bridge databases would be used to create the survey sample. Field investigations would be conducted.
The presence of any bat species discovered during the field investigations would potentially be
indicative of utilization by protected species of bats. Based upon the field investigations, a screening
tool and decision tree would be created. (Estimated $75,000 Budget)
 NETC 14-3: Bridge Expansion Joint Deterioration and Repair
Deterioration of bridge deck joints is problematic throughout New England. Leakage through these
joints results in corrosion damage to the superstructure and substructure. This problem is exacerbated by
the use of deicing salts. While the preference is to design jointless bridges, bridge deck joints are still
common in many existing bridges. Assessing the condition, performance, maintenance and
repair/replacement practices of deck joints throughout New England and proposal of a uniform protocol
for reporting these criteria is proposed in this research statement. The development of a regional
protocol and full understanding and documentation of regional concerns will be a proactive step for
participating in the development of National reporting protocols that will be developed by the FHWA
Long Term Bridge Performance Program beginning in 2016. (Estimated $100,000 Budget)
 NETC 14-4: Optimizing future work zones in New England for safety
Work zones are increasingly becoming an integral part of highway maintenance routines. However, they
impact safety and mobility of travelers and workers, thus various questions regarding their layout
optimization and impact mitigation strategies need to be answered. The objective of this project is to
develop detailed plans on optimal layouts and speed reduction policies for future work zones in New
England based on minimizing the crash risk and maintaining a reasonable flow of traffic. Systems
engineering methods that are capable of modeling drivers' behavior and physics of motion will be used.
(Estimated $200,000 Budget)
The total budgeted amount for the 2014 NETC Research Program is $475,000.
As a Policy Committee member, your primary functions shall be to define globally the research, development,
and implementation needs to be addressed by the Consortium; approve the annual program developed in
conjunction with the Advisory and Technical Committees; and acquire/provide funding to carry out the
Program.
Sincerely,
Amanda Hanaway-Corrente, PE, MBA
New England Transportation Consortium Coordinator
CC: William Ahearn, Vermont Agency of Transportation
POLICY COMMITTEE RECIPIENTS:
David B. Bernhardt, Commissioner
Maine DOT
Christopher Clement, Commissioner
New Hampshire Department of Transportation
James P. Redeker, Commissioner
Connecticut Department of Transportation
Richard Davey, Secretary of Transportation and Chief Executive Officer
Massachusetts Highway Department
Michael P. Lewis, Director of Transportation
Rhode Island Department of Transportation
Matthew Hake, Division Administrator
Federal Highway Administration Vermont
Brian Searles, Secretary of Transportation
Vermont Agency of Transportation
NETC ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
VERMONT: William Ahearn, Materials & Research Engineer
CONNECTICUT: James Fallon, Manager of Design Services
MAINE: Dale Peabody, Director of Transportation Research
RHODE ISLAND: Colin A. Franco, Managing Engineer, Research & Technology Development
NEW HAMPSHIRE: Glenn Roberts, Chief of Research
MASSACHUSETTS: Stephen Pepin, Manager of Research
FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION: Christopher Jolly, Planning & Programming Engineer
NETC POLICY COMMITTEE BALLOT
2014 Research Program
BALLOT QUESTION:
To approve the 2014 Research Program, which includes the following projects:
 NETC 14-1: Measuring the Effectiveness of Competency Models for Job-Specific Professional
Development of Engineers & Engineering Technicians (Estimated $100,000 Budget)
 NETC 14-2: Investigation of Northern Long-Eared Bat Roosting Sites on Bridges (Estimated $75,000
Budget)
 NETC 14-3: Bridge Expansion Joint Deterioration and Repair (Estimated $100,000 Budget)
 NETC 14-4: Optimizing future work zones in New England for safety (Estimated $200,000 Budget)
_____ In Favor
_____ Opposed
Comments:
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
NAME:
AGENCY:
DATE:
PLEASE COMPLETE THE ABOVE BALLOT AND
RETURN IT BY EMAIL OR FAX by May 30th, 2014 TO:
Amanda Hanaway-Corrente, NETC Coordinator
E-MAIL: ahanaway@uvm.edu
FAX: 802.656.9892